"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures"…Henry Ward Beecher

Highlights of 2006

Well this blog, in part anyway, is supposed to be a way for friends to keep track of what’s going on in my life. So here’s an update on 2006 if I haven’t talked to you lately.

At the very end of 2005, I was in a car wreck and spent the first 3 weeks of January without a car. I carpooled to work with a c0-worker who lives nearby and just got by on the weekends.

In February, I celebrated V-Day with my friends from Wichita. It’s been sort of a tradition since I moved up here 3 years ago. Here I am with Patricia, Beverly, and Crystal. We stayed up late giggling and eating chocolate. I also got a chance to see my good friends Sharon and Deb whom I worked with a Project Bridge in Wichita.

Of course being close to family has been nice. My parents moved to Liberty (KC suburb) in fall of 2005 and my brother and his family moved there this year. So we’ve been able to have frequent family gatherings. Here is my sister-in-law Kim with her kids: Molly and Philip (who are now 3 and 15 months). Well, poor unlucky children have been the guinea pigs for my love of photography. Philip wasn’t too crazy about posing in this pot, but he’s sooooo cute, don’t you think? And here’s one of my favorite shots of Molly looking like a poster child for mischievous children. Can’t you just see the tilted halo on her head? She really is a great kid and has a strong desire to please……The rest of my family lives close too. My brother Jim is in Marshall, MO, and Tracy and her daughter Abbey bought a house less than a mile from me.

Summer started with our regular Memorial Day weekend tradition. The family took our annual trip to Branson. This year we visited the Titanic museum and Predator World. Also this summer, I had a roommate. My good friend Michelle from Georgia moved in for about 7 weeks. She had visited me the summer before and while here, she met her boyfriend. They’ve been dating long distance for almost 2 years now. Since she is a teacher, it was the perfect chance for her to spend some quality time with Greg. In June, we went to the first York College Choir reunion. My best friend Niki was there too, and it was the first time the 3 of us had been together since college. Here’s a shot of Niki, Michelle and I. Also in June, I had the opportunity to go to the TAC convention (yes I still stamp and scrapbook). Here I am with my stampin’ friends Sandy and Cyndi.

In July I visited Chicago for the first time. I went with my friend Mary Jane, who is the music therapist at my school. One of the highlights was seeing “Wicked”, which now is my favorite musical. It was excellent. We also took in the Art Musuem, Field Museum, Aquarium, Navy Pier, the boat cruise, and checked out one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s homes. It was a great city and a great experience.

Well I came so close to sharing a birthday with my nephew. He was born the day before and turned 1 year in 2006. Here he is with his Birthday cake. We took a trip to the zoo. It was 90 degrees in October! Here are Abbey and Molly. That was my first visit to the KC zoo that I could remember, and it was a bit of a disappointment, I must say.

I’m pretty active with our singles group. Here we are at a fellowship at my house. In October, we had a retreat. Our new Worship Minister, Allen French was the speaker and it was a great weekend. This is a goofy picture. We went on one of those photo scavenger hunts and we had to act out a parable. Can you guess which one?

In November, I had the opportunity to go to the American Art Therapy Association conference for the first time. It was in New Orleans, so that was a first for me too. I took an extra couple of days to look around. The architecture was beautiful.

Christmas was fun. Here are the kiddos being cheesy. On December 29, my sister got married. Abbey was so excited, especially since she got to wear a junion bride dress and crown, like her mom. It was a beautiful wedding in the glass chapel in Eureka Springs. Here is Tracy with her new husband, Ben and Abbey.

Well, my friends, that’s 2006 in a nutshell. Would love to hear what’s new in your lives.

Bill: Good to hear from you! Niki had mentioned awhile back that she ran into you. So glad all is well with you and your family. How long ago did you move from Topeka? Can you believe it’s been 10 years ago I was there? I can’t! Blessings to you!